Upon hearing Ye Linchen's answer, Huo Yunlan's expression clearly froze for a moment.
She lowered her head, took a sip of tea, and calmed herself down.
After a moment, she continued, "Xiao Chen, Auntie doesn't mean to rush you... but when do you plan to get married? That way, Auntie can make some preparations in advance."
Ye Linchen felt somewhat uncomfortable.
She didn't understand why Huo Yunlan kept bringing up the issue of marriage.
But she still politely replied, "Auntie, I don't have any specific plans right now. I want to wait until the company is up and running and stable before considering marriage. Right now, I want to focus all my energy on starting my business and give it my all."
Huo Yunlan looked up at her, and in those clear eyes, she seemed to see a reflection of her younger self.
She genuinely liked Ye Linchen, a girl full of ambition and drive.
If Ye Linchen weren't Gu Jingran's girlfriend, she would probably encourage her without hesitation.
Young people should be adventurous; marriage and family can become constraints on the path of striving.
When she was young, she was held back by her family and gave up the opportunity to study abroad. She went through a long and winding road before finally reaching the position she wanted to be.
But reality prevented her from saying those words.
Her reckless pursuit of success in her youth caused her to neglect Gu Jingran, so every time she saw her son, she always felt guilty and indebted.
Because of her, Gu Jingran did not grow up by her parents' side and could not act like other children who were carefree and spoiled.
Later, seeing that he was still unwilling to find a partner, she felt even more guilty.
She even began to wonder if it was her fault that Gu Jingran was so resistant to intimate relationships.
Fortunately, Gu Jingran finally brought Ye Linchen to them last year, which relieved her of some of the burden.
A year passed, but the two still had no plans to get married, and she began to feel guilty and worried again.
Ye Linchen's words reminded Huo Yunlan of her own past. She didn't want Gu Jingran to go through the pain she experienced as a child again, so she tried to persuade Ye Linchen to change the situation.
Before coming here, she only wanted to ask Ye Linchen what he thought. If Ye Linchen really hadn't considered marriage, then so be it, and she wouldn't bring up the issue for the time being.
But now, Huo Yunlan was overcome with emotion and couldn't care less about anything else.
She paused for a moment before slowly speaking, "Xiao Chen, I understand how you feel. I went through the same thing back then."
"But you also know that Jingran is not young anymore. He has his own company, and you see how busy he is every day. I really admire your desire to start your own business. You have the courage and ambition, and I admire those qualities from the bottom of my heart."
"But have you ever thought about what will happen if you get married and both of you are busy with your careers? Who will manage the household? Who will take care of the children? I've been through this before, and I don't want you to go down the same path we did."
Ye Linchen looked up and stared at Huo Yunlan in surprise.
Something's not right.
She recalled her previous meetings with Gu Yuanshan and Huo Yunlan, and how they reacted when she talked about her startup project. Instantly, everything connected to her.
She looked at Huo Yunlan, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Auntie...do you not approve of my starting a business?"
Huo Yunlan quickly shook her head: "It's not that I disagree. I just hope you can think more long-term. You're dating now, so shouldn't you consider your future together?"
Ye Linchen's heart sank slightly.
She found it strange that Huo Yunlan would suddenly bring up this issue when everything seemed fine.
She had heard Gu Jingran say before that Huo Yunlan was a reckless and ambitious woman in her youth, willing to give up everything to pursue her career.
Why would someone like that say such things to me, and even subtly advise me to give up on starting a business?
Could this be Gu Jingran's intention?
Although Ye Linchen didn't want to doubt Gu Jingran, after all, he had always provided her with a lot of help.
But she really couldn't think of any other possibility.
Finding guessing pointless, Ye Linchen decided to ask, "Auntie, is this Jingran's intention?"
Huo Yunlan quickly waved her hand: "No, it's not what he meant. It's just that his father and I are a little anxious. You know, Jingran is not young anymore. Among our colleagues who are the same age as him, their children can already run around, but he still hasn't settled down, so we wanted to ask you."
Although Ye Linchen felt uncomfortable, she still nodded politely: "I understand, Auntie."
Seeing that her attitude had softened, Huo Yunlan finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Auntie is not trying to force you, but just hopes that you can spend more time thinking about your future plans."
Ye Linchen sighed inwardly, but simply replied with a faint, "Okay."
Seeing Ye Linchen's obedient response, Huo Yunlan assumed that she had taken his words to heart and nodded with great satisfaction.
Having finished their conversation, Huo Yunlan glanced at her watch and then changed the subject: "It's almost time. Let's go to the fish restaurant and see how Jingran and Lao Gu are doing fishing."
Upon hearing this, Ye Linchen put down his teacup, stood up with Huo Yunlan, and they took a car to the fish restaurant together.
Gu Jingran and Gu Yuanshan were lucky today, catching a whole bucket full of fish.
Huo Yunlan was in a good mood. She squatted down by the fish bucket and counted the fish carefully. She exclaimed happily, "Wow, Old Gu, you actually caught eight fish!"
Gu Yuanshan replied with a smile, "Half of the credit goes to Jingran. Jingran's skills are really good; she has surpassed her teacher."
“We can’t finish these eight fish.” Huo Yunlan shook the water off her hands. “Have the fish restaurant cook four for lunch today, and we can take the remaining four back to our colleagues in the office to have a taste.”
Gu Jingran just smiled and didn't say anything. He carried the fish bucket to the fish restaurant owner to have lunch.
Soon, a table full of food was served.
Huo Yunlan urged everyone to eat: "Come on, sit down. The owner of this restaurant is really good at cooking. Xiao Chen, try it and see if it suits your taste."
Ye Linchen smiled and said, "Okay."
Ye Linchen couldn't let go of the conversation they had just had, so he wasn't in a very good mood throughout lunch.
Gu Jingran quickly noticed that Ye Linchen was acting strangely and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? Why are you unhappy?"
Ye Linchen glanced at Gu Jingran, unsure how to begin, and simply shook her head: "It's nothing, I'm just a little reluctant to leave since I have to go back."
Gu Jingran reached out and patted Ye Linchen on the shoulder.
"If you like Beijing, we'll come over whenever we have time."
Ye Linchen was silent for a moment, then gave a soft "hmm".
Huo Yunlan didn't know what the two were talking about, but she was very satisfied with the intimacy between them.
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